Man is unlike all other created beings. Sometimes humans are touted as the "top of the evolutionary ladder," but it does not take a PhD to see the the distance between the rungs of primates and humans is an impossible jump. Man is a world apart in complexity, thinking, morality, philosophy, technology, and especially spiritually. Human beings are more than beasts, even if we choose to act like them or are deceived to think somehow, someway, we share ancestry with them.
The Bible says God made man in His own image and breathed into Adam a living soul. He was formed out of the dust of the ground, not from some lesser species. The distance between the rungs of man and beast is an eternal expanse, impossible to navigate through the sheer force of natural selection. Solomon wrote of God and men in Ecclesiastes 3:11: "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." God has put eternity in the hearts of men, an awareness of time and eternity no other created animal has. We realise our time on earth is limited. Our eyes have been opened to consider the implications of space and time. We wonder what will happen after we die. Animals do not "think" or have such longings for knowledge of the future, nor do animals care to enshrine the past.
My son is spending a week at Macquarie University working in the museum with antiquities. He has been learning how to handle these valued treasures carefully to preserve our connection with the ancient world. Apes, elephants, cats, snakes, or chickens have no appreciation nor concept of history or the distant future. We view many animals as "smart," and some are very clever - as far as animals go. But in comparison to human beings there is an infinite difference. There are no chimpanzee philosophers, musicians, historians, or lab technicians. Apes cannot study music theory, biology, theology, chemistry, or even participate in physical education with small children. But to only look what apes can and cannot in relation to mankind would be an extremely narrow approach. The most critical difference between animals and people is how God created us. There is a spiritual aspect - a soul - God has put inside every human being. He has given us a conscience, a sense of right and wrong which agrees with the truth of God's Word. God has put eternity in our hearts and a complexity of thought, the capacity for artistic expression, and knowledge of time like no other created beings on this earth.
A dog's life is governed by breakfast time and dinner time, but humans realise we only have twenty-four hours in every day, seven days in every week, and fifty-two weeks in every year. People agree with the statement in the Steve Miller Band song "Fly Like an Eagle" which says, "Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin', into the future." The older people grow, the faster time seems to go. This reality concerns humans deeply, but animals pay it no mind. There is no growing sense of urgency in the life of a dog or cat as their years go on to accomplish something more significant than existence. The Bible which tells us of God creating man reveals all people will stand before God and be judged after our lives on earth. Animals will not face this judgment, for they do not have in them a soul with the capacity to understand, think, feel, and know as man does. The scriptures say the wages of sin is death, and the soul that sins will surely die. Should we die in our sins, humans will face eternity in hell separated from God forever. Yet because of God's great love for us, He made a way all can be saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This is called the Gospel, the Good News. People are able to enter into the joy of the LORD and everlasting life when they believe God's Word and rely upon Jesus for salvation.
To say Jesus was only a man is like saying man is just another primate. Jesus has been revealed from heaven as the Son of God, Immanuel - God with us. The one true God put on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to reveal the way of salvation to all who would believe and receive Him. Matthew 16:24-26 reads, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
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For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
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For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Jesus laid down His life on Calvary's cross, then rose three days later proving His power over sin and death. The human soul provides an awareness, a startling knowledge that there is something beyond this life. Instead of worrying about the future or ignoring those feelings, trying to convince yourself that heaven and hell are not real, look to Jesus Christ as your LORD and Saviour. Open a Bible and read His words for yourself. You are more than a monkey, and Jesus is more than a man. Trust in Him today!
10 March 2015
09 March 2015
Divine Appointments
The phrase "divine appointment" is commonly used by Christians to acknowledge God's hand in orchestrating meaningful moments. God does not employ "luck" or "coincidence" to accomplish His will, but leads us with or without our knowledge. These divine arrangements do not only go one way. Sometimes God has used me to share words through which others benefited, and God has used many to minister to me. No matter your calling or role in the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit dwelling within every believer has the wisdom and power to speak everlasting truth through you with power and authority.
When you think of "divine appointments," do you view yourself typically as the one who imparts or the one who receives? It would be supremely improbable anyone could find themselves smack in the middle. With the amount of writing, teaching, and conversing I do, I would say I tend towards the "imparting" side. To be balanced, I need to make an intentional effort to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Why is this balance important? Because God wants to use others to share with me what He has taught them, just as He desires I share what He has taught me. If I only talk about what I know or think, how can I receive from others what God has provided for them to share me? It's hard to talk with your mouth stuffed with food, and it's practically impossible to listen when your ears are full of the sound of your own voice.
We should be excited to share what God is teaching us with other people. Let's be just as excited to hear and receive what God is teaching others! My "two cents" never amounts to much. How good it is to hear what God says in His Word, and what an encouragement to hear what God has impressed on others through it. Be ready for your next divine appointment, whether you are speaking or listening!
When you think of "divine appointments," do you view yourself typically as the one who imparts or the one who receives? It would be supremely improbable anyone could find themselves smack in the middle. With the amount of writing, teaching, and conversing I do, I would say I tend towards the "imparting" side. To be balanced, I need to make an intentional effort to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Why is this balance important? Because God wants to use others to share with me what He has taught them, just as He desires I share what He has taught me. If I only talk about what I know or think, how can I receive from others what God has provided for them to share me? It's hard to talk with your mouth stuffed with food, and it's practically impossible to listen when your ears are full of the sound of your own voice.
We should be excited to share what God is teaching us with other people. Let's be just as excited to hear and receive what God is teaching others! My "two cents" never amounts to much. How good it is to hear what God says in His Word, and what an encouragement to hear what God has impressed on others through it. Be ready for your next divine appointment, whether you are speaking or listening!
08 March 2015
Love is Not Inconvenienced
I have lived my life in an age of convenience. Some of the definitions of "convenient" found in the Merriam Webster dictionary are, "suited to personal comfort or to easy performance; suited to a particular situation; affording accommodation or advantage." The world panders to our natural selfishness. We want things to be easy, comfortable, and advantageous. Most people are happy to pay more for greater convenience. We complain when the seal on the tomato sauce or the peanut butter doesn't have suitable sized tabs for easy removal. We avoid peak-hour traffic when we can because it is a great inconvenience. Today was a lesson in convenience I won't soon forget.
My eldest son began his work experience today at Macquarie University. My wife had planned on accompanying him on the bus and making sure he arrived at his destination. Riding the bus in Sydney can be tricky because there are no announcements of an upcoming stop or what stop it is! You need to know where you are going and push the "stop" button and the driver will stop at the next scheduled stop on the route. I already had the day planned, and hoped to accomplish some important preparation for the week. It turned out Laura woke up with a terrific migraine. I would have to drive to the station, take the bus to Macquarie University, and turn right around and come home. I was not happy. My plans were shot, and it was most inconvenient.
As the bus rumbled along at a snail's pace, I thought about feeling inconvenienced. What I saw in my heart was not pretty. If I could boil it down to the most fundamental aspect, it is inherently selfish. It is placing your own ease and comfort above everything else. I thought about how Jesus left the glory of heaven, entered time, inhabited a human body for decades, only to be rejected and die a brutal death on the cross. Jesus knew this faced Him, but He gladly did it anyway. "Inconvenient" does not begin to sum up His sacrifice. There I was, annoyed about a modified schedule which would cost me a few hours, when Jesus joyfully went to the cross for my sins. I was convicted by my selfishness. And then a thought came: "Love is not inconvenienced." Jesus did not see it as "inconvenient" to leave heaven and become a man. He did not come to earth for convenience: Jesus came because He loved lost souls He wanted to save.
Isn't it true when you walk in love, nothing is too hard or difficult? No sacrifice is too great for your beloved, and even great personal cost is as nothing. I was once invited to be a groomsman at a close friend's wedding. It was a day of great rejoicing. It didn't matter it was quite a long drive to the church. It didn't matter the tux rental cost me more than a day's wages! I didn't care how long the wedding lasted. I loved my friend, his bride, and family, and just being there with him on his wedding day was a treasured joy. But I honestly have not always felt this way about every wedding. Some weddings I have been invited to seemed a bit inconvenient because of location, duration, or many other factors. It was because I was not viewing that person through the lens of Christ's giving, unchanging, unrelenting love. Love is never inconvenienced because it is wholly focused on others and saturated with grace and mercy. This morning I repented because my feelings of being inconvenienced proved I was not abiding in Christ's love. My early morning perspective was all about me when it should have been about loving God and others.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 provides a tidy description of God's love: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." God's love is infinite, and there is no description adequate to sum it up. Today God gave me a practical application in my own life by allowing my feelings to alert me to a problem in my heart. Thankfully God forgives all who repent. This morning I had my own plans, but God's plans included teaching me a lesson I will benefit from for eternity. How good and gracious the LORD is to not only give awareness of sin, but the righteous path leading to joy and gladness!
My eldest son began his work experience today at Macquarie University. My wife had planned on accompanying him on the bus and making sure he arrived at his destination. Riding the bus in Sydney can be tricky because there are no announcements of an upcoming stop or what stop it is! You need to know where you are going and push the "stop" button and the driver will stop at the next scheduled stop on the route. I already had the day planned, and hoped to accomplish some important preparation for the week. It turned out Laura woke up with a terrific migraine. I would have to drive to the station, take the bus to Macquarie University, and turn right around and come home. I was not happy. My plans were shot, and it was most inconvenient.
As the bus rumbled along at a snail's pace, I thought about feeling inconvenienced. What I saw in my heart was not pretty. If I could boil it down to the most fundamental aspect, it is inherently selfish. It is placing your own ease and comfort above everything else. I thought about how Jesus left the glory of heaven, entered time, inhabited a human body for decades, only to be rejected and die a brutal death on the cross. Jesus knew this faced Him, but He gladly did it anyway. "Inconvenient" does not begin to sum up His sacrifice. There I was, annoyed about a modified schedule which would cost me a few hours, when Jesus joyfully went to the cross for my sins. I was convicted by my selfishness. And then a thought came: "Love is not inconvenienced." Jesus did not see it as "inconvenient" to leave heaven and become a man. He did not come to earth for convenience: Jesus came because He loved lost souls He wanted to save.
Isn't it true when you walk in love, nothing is too hard or difficult? No sacrifice is too great for your beloved, and even great personal cost is as nothing. I was once invited to be a groomsman at a close friend's wedding. It was a day of great rejoicing. It didn't matter it was quite a long drive to the church. It didn't matter the tux rental cost me more than a day's wages! I didn't care how long the wedding lasted. I loved my friend, his bride, and family, and just being there with him on his wedding day was a treasured joy. But I honestly have not always felt this way about every wedding. Some weddings I have been invited to seemed a bit inconvenient because of location, duration, or many other factors. It was because I was not viewing that person through the lens of Christ's giving, unchanging, unrelenting love. Love is never inconvenienced because it is wholly focused on others and saturated with grace and mercy. This morning I repented because my feelings of being inconvenienced proved I was not abiding in Christ's love. My early morning perspective was all about me when it should have been about loving God and others.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 provides a tidy description of God's love: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." God's love is infinite, and there is no description adequate to sum it up. Today God gave me a practical application in my own life by allowing my feelings to alert me to a problem in my heart. Thankfully God forgives all who repent. This morning I had my own plans, but God's plans included teaching me a lesson I will benefit from for eternity. How good and gracious the LORD is to not only give awareness of sin, but the righteous path leading to joy and gladness!
04 March 2015
Thirsty for Mercy
Recently I discovered a connection I had never noticed before: the correlation between receiving mercy from God and courageous strength. Many times in scripture the exhortation is given by God and devout souls who feared God: "Be strong!" The glory of young men is their strength, but it is not by lifting weights and physical exercise that brings this strength. Spiritual strength is derived only from God through faith and experienced as we obey.
The Bible is filled with examples of people who triumphed over their enemies - not because they were physically stronger, had larger armies, better weapons or training, or held a strategic advantage - but because they trusted God and obeyed Him. There are also examples of people who faced unbearable suffering and horrendous circumstances. Strength from God was needed just to endure the day, for their lives hung by a thread. This is the sad condition faced by God's people in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. God punished those in Jerusalem for their sins through cruel enemies, and people were dying in the streets during the siege. The first few chapters of Lamentations paint a picture so bleak, so horrible, it is truly beyond comprehension. The enemies were closing in, God had shut out the prayers of His people, and death loomed ever closer.
Lamentations 3:18-25 records the words of the prophet: "And I said, "My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD." 19 Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul still remembers and sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 22 Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." Out of the deepest, darkest depression, Jeremiah's heart shifts away from suffering to the God who loves him. It was in remembering God's goodness, mercy, and compassion when the light of divine hope shone upon Jeremiah's mind and heart. He realised it was only by God's grace and mercies which were new every morning which brought strength and salvation. In the darkest pit, God's goodness still shines bright because God is always faithful, merciful, and good.
In 2 Corinthians 4:1 Paul wrote, "Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart." God is merciful and His mercies are new every morning for great is His faithfulness. These mercies are received by faith in God. Paul recognised the connection between receiving mercy from God and in doing so finding strength and courage to serve God. Things were not easy for Paul, and life is no easier for us. God does not change, and He remains ever merciful. When you lose heart, remember to turn your eyes back to God again. Receive the mercy He has graciously provided for you today. As we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. We can lose heart, but we don't have to!
The Bible is filled with examples of people who triumphed over their enemies - not because they were physically stronger, had larger armies, better weapons or training, or held a strategic advantage - but because they trusted God and obeyed Him. There are also examples of people who faced unbearable suffering and horrendous circumstances. Strength from God was needed just to endure the day, for their lives hung by a thread. This is the sad condition faced by God's people in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. God punished those in Jerusalem for their sins through cruel enemies, and people were dying in the streets during the siege. The first few chapters of Lamentations paint a picture so bleak, so horrible, it is truly beyond comprehension. The enemies were closing in, God had shut out the prayers of His people, and death loomed ever closer.
Lamentations 3:18-25 records the words of the prophet: "And I said, "My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD." 19 Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul still remembers and sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 22 Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." Out of the deepest, darkest depression, Jeremiah's heart shifts away from suffering to the God who loves him. It was in remembering God's goodness, mercy, and compassion when the light of divine hope shone upon Jeremiah's mind and heart. He realised it was only by God's grace and mercies which were new every morning which brought strength and salvation. In the darkest pit, God's goodness still shines bright because God is always faithful, merciful, and good.
In 2 Corinthians 4:1 Paul wrote, "Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart." God is merciful and His mercies are new every morning for great is His faithfulness. These mercies are received by faith in God. Paul recognised the connection between receiving mercy from God and in doing so finding strength and courage to serve God. Things were not easy for Paul, and life is no easier for us. God does not change, and He remains ever merciful. When you lose heart, remember to turn your eyes back to God again. Receive the mercy He has graciously provided for you today. As we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. We can lose heart, but we don't have to!
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